Legends of Charlemagne

by Thomas Bulfinch, Giovanni Caselli

Retells the stories of heroes and heroines from the Middle Ages

Genres: Mythology, History, Classics, Medieval, France, Reference, Poetry

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1862

About the author

Thomas Bulfinch was an American writer born in Newton, Massachusetts, best known for the book Bulfinch's Mythology.

Reviews

[F S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written and entertaining.

[Diana Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the book for me. I was hoping for more about Charlemagne and some of the legends surrounding this great King. Instead I was reading fantasy land adventures with Knights who become enchanted, wizards, sorcery,magical beings including flying beasts. But that wasn't my main problem with the text, there was such an extraordinary jumping around from one scenario to the next. The story would start to come together and the writer would tell us "we will get back to them later", or some such wording and by that time you forget where you left of with the characters. I don't doubt that many people would love this read but I'm one who needs more consistency.

[Andre Piucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Those who have investigated the origin of the romantic fables relating to Charlemagne and his peers are of opinion that the deeds of Charles Martel, and perhaps of other Charleses, have been blended in popular tradition with those properly belonging to Charlemagne. (...) Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, succeeded his father, Pepin, on the throne in the year 768. This prince, though the hero of numerous romantic legends, appears greater in history than in fiction."

[TimetoFangirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for research, not for fun, which is reflected in the rating. The writing of this is VERY fairy tale, where the narrator describes a series of folklore adventures in an old-school way. I appreciated the information, there isn't a single stronger collection of Charlemagne-related folklore than this.

[Kierstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max review says it would’ve been a 4/5 if it mentioned Charlemagne more. He thinks Rinaldo seemed like the main character.
I found it a delightful collection of tales that had the same substance but a much different flavor than other medieval legends like King Arthur. I especially like the Crusader themes running through and a much more “worldly” setting, which seems appropriate given Charlemagne’s large empire.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the three volume trilogy, the Charlemagne stories are perhaps the least rewarding of the three books, perhaps because the characters and the stories are less well known but the volume is interesting none the less.
A must have for the folklore scholar and a worthwhile read as a companion to the "hard" history to be gleaned from the more mainstream history of Charlemagne's empire.

[Tinquerbelle]

Bulfinch, Thomas
Bulfinch's Mythology

In compilation only.

1) Introduction
2) The Peers, or Paladins
3) The Tournament
4) The Siege of Albracca
5) Adventures of Rinaldo and Orlando
6) The Invasion of France
7) The Invasion of France (continued)
8) Bradamante and Rogero
9) Astolpho and the Enchantress
10) The Orc
11) Atolpho's Adventures Continued, and Isabella's Began
12) Medoro
13) Orlando Mad
14) Zerbino and Isabella
15) Astolpho in Abyssinia
16) The War in Africa
17) Rogero and Bradamante
18) The Battle of Roncesvalles
19) Rinaldo and Bayard
20) Death of Rinaldo
21) Huon of Bordeaux
22) Huon of Bordeaux (continued)
23) Huon of Bordeaux (continued)
24) Ogier, the Dane
25) Ogier, the Dane (continued)
26) Ogier, the Dane (continued)
27) Proverbial Expressions

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 2 out of 5]

What gorgeous illustrations! What daft stories!
I'm not sure how the stories of Oliver and Roland etc. captured the imaginations of our forebears, because the actions of the Saracens and the Christians in here are... the amount of pointless gang warfare going on here, with everything focused on weird points of 'honor' (sure, after your betrothed has followed you all over Europe and gotten you retrieved from captivity after captivity, you finally marry her and then you lose your life to protect the *sword* that your friend threw away, when he ran mad and started killing innocent bystanders? Right...)

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the weakest of the three volumes, possibly because the characters and events were solidly in the historical era. Also I think Bulfinch was just mailing it in at this point. Bad choice of subject material handled poorly compared to the earlier two volumes, disappointing.

[S]

1863
Thomas Bulfinch
part of Bulfinch's Mythology

Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Pub., 200-
reprint; originally New York: Thomas Y Crowell, 1901

horribly dull

[Adam McPhee · Rating 1 out of 5]

An attempt to bring Roland et al to the readers of the nineteenth century, "expurgated of all that would be offensive". Skip it and find a translation of the originals.

[Meredith]

DNF- as much as the way Legends appeared around Charlemagne is fascinating, these are really boring for me to read. Not keen on forcing myself through the stories.